1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to streaming content, and more importantly, to obtaining a modulation coding scheme that maintains streaming content.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Mobile wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, tablet computers, and notebook computers, support a variety of communication services including, for example, voice communication, text messaging, Internet browsing, and audio/video streaming. To support these services, wireless communication networks use one or more standardized communication protocols, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Additional protocols support data services, such as general packet radio service (GPRS) or enhanced GPRS (EGPRS). Each of these standardized communication protocols specify access techniques that permit the simultaneous service of multiple mobile devices by a wireless communication network.
Users of mobile devices expect good performance for both voice and data services under a variety of operating scenarios including, for example, dense urban areas, rural expanses, and indoor locations. Each operating scenario presents a different combination of effects on radio frequency signals transmitted between the mobile wireless communication device and base transceiver stations (BTS) located within cells of a wireless communication network. To measure performance, communication protocols often define several indicators to measure performance of communication devices or channels.
The connection between a mobile device and a remote device can traverse both wireless and wired segments. Wireless access segments can use one or more of many different wireless access technologies. An application service in the mobile device can adapt to variations in conditions through the communication network connection based on far end feedback from the remote device; however, this far end feedback can incur significant delay before reaching the mobile device, thereby limiting the speed with which the application service can respond to changing network conditions.
In addition, each voice and data application can have different service requirements for operating characteristics, such as performance parameters for delay latency, packet loss, and jitter tolerance. Among the various applications, streaming content and live streaming content can have the strictest performance requirements. For example, real time conversational voice connections and high quality video conferencing services require higher data rates with lower delay than non-real time services. Satisfying end-to-end quality of service (QoS) for an application can prove difficult, as packets can traverse through multiple independent nodes between the mobile device and a destination end point. In a wireless access network portion of a connection, limited radio frequency bandwidth can be shared by multiple users, and the transmission capabilities of the wireless access network portion can change dynamically over time.
Moreover, due to the growing use of 3G networks, bandwidth available for GSM/GPRS is shrinking As a result, problems caused by interference, especially co-channel interference, have increased. Although higher modulation coding schemes (MCS) can be used to produce higher throughput, they are also more vulnerable to interference and noise. With increased interference, demodulation performance becomes seriously limited even when a high received signal strength indicator (RSSI) is measured. Within this transmission environment, the transmission channels used for streaming content can be jeopardized.
At present, a standardized method for a BTS to select an MCS has not yet been adopted. Among the metrics that can be used for the network equipment to select the MCS is the mobile device reported “Derived C.” In general, the Derived C data represents a filtered strength of the serving cell broadcast control channel (BCCH). Unfortunately, present Derived C value calculations frequently do not provide an accurate assessment of the communication channel. Thus, there exists a need to provide an MCS that sufficiently maintains streaming data.